Trust Yourself
by Soccer-Bitch
Summary: After losing her mother when she was young Avery Scott never thought tragedy would strike a second time, especially not coming from her own father. Can she learn to open up after so much pain in her life? Jay/OC
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This story I didn't really plan on writing since I have other active stories, but I couldn't help myself. I hope you enjoy it!  
_**

 ** _A/N2: I own nothing but my characters and plot..._**

* * *

 ** _One_**

When she was young, Avery Scott never thought that one life event could change a person so much. She was sixteen years old and was still figuring out what she wanted to do with her life, but one day it all changed. In less than an hour she knew exactly what she wanted to do and it was because her own father had done something so unforgivable that she hadn't seen or spoken a word to him in twelve years.

Slipping out from under the covers, Avery made her way to the kitchen to start making a pot of coffee. She knew today was going to be long and she needed to make sure that she was on her game today. If there was a time while she was working and she wasn't on the top of her game it could end up costing someone their life or it could cost her, her own life.

But this day wasn't like any other day. Twelve years ago on this day she watched as her own father took a life. Every day of her life she had to live with the fact that her father was a murderer. She had been sixteen for less than a week when her first boyfriend had been too touchy according to her father. So instead of calling his parents, he showed him a lesson. It was a lesson she would never forget. The anger in her father's eyes had scared her, but still she tried to get him to stop, but he didn't. Not until he was dead. Then he turned to her and told her that he was just protecting her from him.

Avery watched as her father left the room and that was when she called 911 and reported what had happened. Each time she had to relive the story was harder than the last. Some people thought she didn't know what she was talking about, but when she was asked if she wanted to testify against her father there was no other answer for her besides yes. She didn't do it because she was upset or mad at her father. No, she did it because her father killed her boyfriend and he deserved justice. And his parents also deserved to see the man that killed their son behind bars.

As the coffee was brewing, Avery made her way back to her bedroom. Laying her clothes on the bed, she walked into her bathroom and started her daily routine of moisturizing her face before straightening her hair. It almost felt as if it were just a normal day, but it wasn't. When she finished her hair, she unplugged the straightener and glanced into the mirror. Releasing a long sigh, she started to do her makeup. After ten minutes she knew it wasn't going to get any better. Late shifts and sleepless nights were making it hard to conceal the circle under her eyes. Brushing her fingers under her eyes, she walked out of the bathroom and got dressed.

Switching the lights off in the bedroom, she made her way back into the kitchen. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it read _5:30_. Releasing a long sigh, she opened a cabinet and pulled down her Chicago Blackhawks travel mug. Filling the cup with hot coffee, she stopped when it was to the point that she normally stopped. After putting the pot back, she turned off the machine and opened the fridge. Taking out the creamer, she poured some into the travel mug and then looked at it and placed a little more in the cup before placing the creamer back in the fridge. As soon as the lid was on the coffee, Avery grabbed her jacket and her bag. Grabbing her keys that were hanging by the door, she walked out of her apartment.

* * *

Walking in the cemetery at night was always a creepy thing, but when it was really early in the morning, it was just as creepy. Avery could still see her breath form in front of her eyes as she walked along the path that would take her to the one person she saw on this day every year.

 _Brandon Turner_

 _Beloved son and friend._

"Hey Brandon. I know I don't usually come this early in the day to talk to you, but I have a shift later and I thought I would swing by your parents place to check on them. I missed the last dinner with them since I had to pick up a shift for a friend."

Placing the blanket she had taken out of her car on the ground, she sat down and looked at the headstone. "This never seems to get any easier. I'm still so angry because my father took something that I can never get back. You. He stole things we would have done together. Going to prom our senior year and graduations. And I will never forgive him for that. I'm so sorry," Avery said as she wiped the tears off her face. "I wish I could go back and change what happened that day. I hate knowing that my own father could kill my best friend without a good reason."

After a few deep breaths, she put on a fake smile as she looked back at the name on the headstone. "So I was transferred out of my old firehouse and have been working at Firehouse 51 for about six months now. These people are amazing. You would have loved them, I truly believe that."

"Sorry to say that there is no juicy gossip on the relationship front since I don't have a love life. It is still just boring old me. Sometimes I feel like I won't ever find the right person for me because I work such crappy hours, but then I remember what you used to tell me when we were younger," Avery said with a smile on her face. "Never rush matters of the heart, Avery Scott, when it is meant to happen it will happen. Trust that you will find the person you are meant to be with."

Moving her hair behind her ear, Avery closed her eyes for a moment and just listened to the silence. "I miss you a lot Brandon. I wish you were still here with me. I need to get back home and get ready for my shift. But maybe I'll come by again sooner than another year. Yes I know I say that every year, but maybe this year will be the year that I mean it. Love you Brandon, I hope you are at peace where ever you are."

Grabbing the flowers she had brought with her, she laid them in front of the headstone before collecting her blanket and making her way back to her car. It was hard coming here each year and it was just as hard to leave. She never had a dry eye when she left.

* * *

Moving swiftly up the stairs, Avery made her way back to her apartment. She spent more time at the cemetery than she thought she would. She had the intention of stopping by Brandon's parents place before she went to work, but when she looked at her clock in her car it didn't seem like it would happen. Maybe if they weren't busy she could stop by or if her boss would okay it she could check out a little early. But that was doubtful.

Dropping her travel mug as she riffled through her bag for her keys, she let out a frustrated sigh. She was over this day. It was nothing but reminders of what happened all those years ago. Taking a deep breath she tried to keep the tears at bay.

"You alright?"

Glancing over her shoulder she saw her neighbor picking up her travel mug and walking over to her. "Yeah, it's just gonna be one of those days."

"You sure?" he asked, leaning against the wall as she got her key out. "I was surprised to hear you rushing out the door so early this morning."

"Excuse me?" Avery asked. "I didn't realize that my business was open for others to dissect."

"It wasn't like that," he said. "I got in late so I was still winding down from work and I heard you leaving. I wasn't spying or anything like that."

Finally locating her key she stuck it in the lock and opened the door and walked inside. Her neighbor followed her behind.

"How long have you been working at Firehouse 51 now?" he asked.

Avery glanced up and looked at him with a curious look on her face. "About six months now."

"You know Gabby Dawson?"

"Yeah, she is a friend and co-worker. I met her when I was working at another firehouse. She actually was the one that told me that I should ask for the transfer to 51. What's with the questions?"

Shaking his head, he set the mug on the counter. "I was just wondering how she was doing. I work with her brother and if she was doing alright."

"Doing alright as in is she seeing someone or is she doing alright as you care like a friend? Or just wondering how she is doing as the guy that slept with his friends sister and doesn't want to tell him?"

"She told you that?" he asked, his eyes wide with shock.

"Apparently."

"And is she okay?"

"Look, I don't like to get into the drama of things like this. So don't ask again, but she's fine. She's happy and she's loving what she is doing at the firehouse."

"I know I shouldn't have slept with her or asked, but I just wanted to know without asking her brother. It would be too weird, ya know?"

Nodding her head, she took off her jacket and made her way to her bedroom to grab her bag and came back out. "I don't know. But it is nice that you care about her but I wouldn't try getting back with her. She's sorta seeing someone right now and no I won't tell you who it is."

"I understand," he said as he sat down on her couch. "Do you have any coffee? I'm out and I have to go to work soon."

"Why am I not surprised that Jay Halstead once again forgot to get coffee when he bought beer at the store?"

"What can I say?" he said with a small smile upon his face. "You make some great coffee."

"If you go get a cup you can heat up what's left in the pot at your place and enjoy it there. I have some place to be."

"Aren't you working third shifts now?" Jay questioned her. "Shouldn't you be off most of the day?"

"What is with all the questions today?" she asked. "Do you want the coffee or not? I have somewhere to be and I'm trying not to be late for work in case a call comes out."

"Are you sure your okay?" Jay asked, concern etched upon his face. "Did something happen that you wanna talk about? You know I'm here for you."

"I really don't have the time for this today," Avery told him. "Do you want the coffee or not?"

"Yeah, I'll take it," he told her. "Can I borrow a mug or will that get my head detached from my shoulders?"

Shaking her head, she looked at him. "I don't care. Just lock the door when you leave. I know you have my spare key still."

"Avery…"

Jay didn't get a chance to say anything else. She slammed the door on her way out. He had gotten to know Avery pretty well since she moved in a year and a half ago. They had become friends, or at least he thought so. The way she was acting though, it confused him. Walking into the kitchen he went to the cupboard and got one of her many coffee mugs down and filled it up before heading back to his own apartment. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he used hers to lock the door as she suggested before heading to his place to get ready for work.

The drive to work seemed to take longer today than it normally did. Perhaps it was because the way Avery was acting was still bothering him. They had encountered each other over the year when working, but they also spent time together when they were both off the clock. Today seemed different though. She was acting as if her best friend had just been killed.

Making his way upstairs to the Intelligence Unit, he took off his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair before sitting down and starting up his computer. Apparently his head wasn't on straight since he didn't even hear when one of the other cops in the unit, Antonio Dawson called his name. It hadn't even registered that he was standing in front of his desk.

"You okay man?"

Looking up at his friend, Jay nodded his head and leaned back into his chair. "Yeah, I guess."

"Something happen?"

"My neighbor across the hall moved in about a year and a half ago. She's a great girl, real sweet. Doesn't talk about her family, but we've been friendly in the past. Today though," Jay said shaking his head. "It was like she was a different person. I have never seen her snap at me the way she did this morning when we were talking."

"You think she's in some sort of trouble?" Antonio asked.

"I don't think so," Jay said honestly. "She isn't the type to get mixed up in something like that. And if there was some deep trouble I think Gabby would have said something to one of us by now."

"Gabby?" Antonio questioned him. "How does your neighbor know Gabby?"

"They work together. Avery is a paramedic at Firehouse 51. She is assigned to one of the ambulances there. She transferred there after Gabby told her about an opening, I think that Avery said it was about six months ago or so."

"I can talk to Gabby discretely if you want," Antonio offered. "I was gonna ask her to watch Eva and Diego for a night while Laura and I have a private talk."

"I don't wanna get Avery into trouble or anything if it isn't something. I'll call her later and see if she wants to get together after her shift ends or something."

"You sure?"

"Yeah man, I'm good. Thanks though."

* * *

 ** _A/N: Let me know that you think!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: This chapter came a lot faster than I thought it would. Probably from watching the crossover event last night, haha  
_**

 ** _A/N2: I own nothing but my characters and plot..._**

* * *

 ** _Two_**

Walking home from the grocery store wasn't something she did a lot, especially not a night time. It had been a week since she yelled at her neighbor and she hadn't seen him since she stormed out of her own apartment. After she got off shift the next morning, she came home to flowers and cookies from the bakery from Jay. It made her feel bad about how she treated him. She knew that she hadn't told many people about why she is so emotional that day, but maybe she should reconsider telling some of her friends about it. If she was honest with herself, she knew she owed it to Jay to tell him the truth.

Pausing against an old brick building, she pulled out her cell and pulled off her glove off and shoved it into her pocket. Unlocking her phone, she went into her contacts and found Jay's information and texted him.

 _Avery: I'm sorry about last week. And I should have said thank you for the gifts earlier._

 _Jay: We cool then?_

 _Avery: I think I might want to talk about it, if you are up for it._

 _Jay: Tonight?_

 _Avery: How about Friday night? I'll bring the wine you bring the food?_

 _Jay: How does Chinese sound?_

 _Avery: Perfect._

With a smile on her face, Avery placed her phone back into her pocket and placed her glove back on her her way back to her place with her bag of groceries and a pint of ice cream, she couldn't help but feel better. Maybe talking about Brandon was something that she needed to do, maybe she should have done it years ago. Only that meant talking about her father and that was something that she couldn't do. It was still painful to even think about him or what he did.

Avery was five feet from the entrance of her building when she saw three men. Two of them had what looked like guns out. That's when she heard two loud pops and the third man fell down and didn't move. With her experience as a paramedic, she knew that he was dead. Doing her best not be noticed by the two murderers, she made her way to entrance of the apartments and entered her key code. That was when she looked back and saw one of them looking in her direction. Quickly, she moved behind the door and made her way to the stairs to get to her apartment. Once she was behind her own apartment door she locked it and didn't turn on any lights.

Swiftly she put everything away and then went to her bedroom. She wasn't sure if she should call someone or not. Would anyone believe her? Avery knew what she saw, but now she was terrified. Would those men come after her? Did they see her? God, she hoped they wouldn't.

She just had to get through the night, then she would go to work and after that she would see Jay and she could tell him what she saw. Maybe she was wrong? But that wasn't likely. She just watched at two men killed someone. It was a needless thing to do, murder never solved anything. At least not in her opinion and boy did she have an opinion on the subject.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket once more, she went to her texts and opened her thread with Jay. It was easy since she had just texted him not too long ago.

 _Avery: Are you by chance home right now?_

 _Jay: No, working a case. No one is leaving tonight until we get this guy. I promise I'll be there tomorrow night._

 _Avery: You still have my coffee cup?_

 _Jay: How can you tell with a cupboard full of them?_

 _Avery: Because it happens to be the one you always take when you steal coffee from me. Btw, I got you some coffee for your place._

 _Jay: Haha, I'm still getting it from your place. Maybe I'll buy a cup and leave it there._

 _Avery: Dream on. Maybe I'll teach you how to make a good cup of coffee instead._

 _Jay: I gotta go, meeting my team._

 _Avery: Stay safe, Jay. All of you._

 _Jay: Will do._

* * *

 ** _Firehouse 51_**

"Hey, Casey!" Sylvie Brett, the paramedic in charge of Ambulance 61 called to the Lieutenant in charge of Fire truck 81.

"Yeah?"

Walking over to Matt Casey, she gave him a small smile. "You haven't seen Avery have you? She was supposed to be here three hours ago and no one has seen her. I tried calling her cell but it just rings before voicemail picks up."

"You think something might be wrong?" he questioned her.

"In all the time that she has been here at 51, how many times has she been late? Or not called in if she was going to be late?" Sylvie asked him.

"Alright, I know where she lives," Matt said. "I'll take Kelly and head over there to see if there is anything wrong."

"Thanks," Sylvie said. "I hope I'm wrong, but this just isn't like her."

"Don't worry, we'll check it out."

"Thank you."

Matt watched as Sylvie walked away and he went to Chief Boden's office. There was no way that Avery just didn't show up to work. It just wasn't how she worked. If there was a car issue she would have called someone for a ride or something, not showing up at all wasn't how she did things. She might have only been here for half a year, but she was family and very dependable.

Knocking on the door to Chief Boden's office, he saw that his friend Kelly Severide was already in there. That worked perfectly since now he wouldn't have to repeat himself with the story.

"You need something Casey?" Chief Boden's deep voice asked as he watched the young lieutenant walk in and close the door. After a moment of silence he looked between Matt Casey and Kelly Severide. "Lieutenant?"

"Brett just came to me," Casey said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Avery is three hours late and she hasn't called. Also when Brett called her she said it rings before voicemail picks up."

"You think something is wrong?" Kelly questioned him.

"I think it is possible," Casey admitted. "She has been here for six months and not once has she ever been late to work without calling someone with a good reason. The fact that she isn't even picking up her phone has me worried."

"That doesn't sound like Avery at all." Kelly admitted as he looked from Casey to Chief Boden. "Chief, we know where she lives. Would you mind if we go and see if we can find her or something there?"

"Let Herman know he's in charge of the truck until you get back," Boden told them as he nodded his head in approval. "Let me know what you find."

"Will do Chief." Both Kelly and Casey told him as they headed for the door.

* * *

Parking their car on the street in front of Avery's building, Kelly Severide got out of the passenger side and looked around. He was searching to see if he could see anything that would make her not show up for work, but there was nothing obvious on the outside.

Using the key code that she gave Matt for use of emergency, he keyed it in and waited for Kelly to enter before walking inside himself. Using the stairs, the two of them made it to the right floor and went to the apartment. Knocking on the door, there was no response. Then Kelly used his fist and pounded loudly on the door. "Avery, open the door."

"She's not home," the voice of Jay Halstead said from across the hall. "She's at work."

Turning Matt Casey looked at him and shook his head hiding his surprise at seeing the police officer there. "No, she was supposed to show up three hours ago and no one in the house has seen or heard from her."

"Are you sure?" Jay asked, taken back by the news that his friend and neighbor hadn't shown up to work. "Give me a second, I have a key to her place."

The two firefighters nodded their heads, but kept knocking on the door in hopes she would hear them and open the door. Without saying a word, the two of them knew the other one was worried about the paramedic. She was a good fit at Firehouse 51 and they really hoped it wasn't anything serious.

It didn't take Jay long to reappear with the key to her apartment. Once he unlocked it, the three of them walked inside. That was when they knew something was wrong, the place was completely trashed.

Papers were all over the entry way, the glass table by the door was shattered. There was no way that Avery would do this to her own apartment. Her shelf of movies and tv shows were thrown all around and the shelf was on the floor broken along with two of her tall floor lamps. Bending down, Jay pulled out his clutch piece at his ankle and surveyed the room.

Kelly made his way to the bedroom as Jay and Matt carefully walked around the main room, making sure no one else was in the apartment. When Jay got to the other side of the couch, he could feel his stomach plummet.

"Oh god! Avery!"

Swiftly making his way to where his friend was laying on her side where there was a pool of blood next to her. He made sure to be careful as not to disturb the scene.

"Call for an ambulance!" Jay yelled at Matt Casey as he felt for a pulse. "Her pulse is slow, but it's there."

"What the hell happened here?" Kelly asked as he came back into the main room. "Who would do this?"

"I have no idea," Jay said shaking his head as Casey made the call. "But I intend to find out."

Luckily for them, it didn't take the ambulance long to arrive. And when it did, it was from Firehouse 51. Sylvie and one of the paramedics from swing shift came in. Sylvie knew that she had been right, but now wasn't the time to talk about it, she had to help her friend make it to the hospital.

"We need to intubate her," Sylvie said out loud. "One of you riding with her?"

"I'm riding with you," Jay told them. "Make sure you head to Med."

As soon as it was done and Avery was on the backboard, they had her on the stretcher and they were heading towards the ambulance. Jay was shaking his head as he climbed in the back with Sylvie. How could anyone hurt Avery in such a way and leave her for dead?

* * *

Upon getting to Chicago Med, Jay didn't see his brother but that didn't mean he was going to leave Avery if he didn't have to. Maggie, the nurse in charge was surprised to see him, he could tell by the look she gave him. When her gaze turned to the one on the stretcher, she took a deep breath. As a paramedic, Avery had a working relationship with the staff at the hospitals that they transported the victims to.

"Avery?"

"She was beaten severely. We found her in her apartment." Jay said looking at Maggie.

"Dr. Manning! Trauma Room Three is open for you."

Nodding her head, the brunette doctor rushed over to the patient. Following the stretcher they went into the room and as carefully as possible they moved her from the stretcher to the bed. Jay watched from the entrance as the nurses and Dr. Manning worked on her injuries. "Do we know what happened?"

"She was three hours late for work," Jay said speaking up. "Two of the firefighters from House 51 came to see if she was home. I had stopped by to get something when I heard them. I have a key to her apartment for emergencies, so when they told me she hadn't shown up I unlocked the door and the place was destroyed and she was laying on her side with a pool of blood near her."

"There is a deep cut to her abdomen. We packed it the best we could," Sylvie said. "We had to intubate before we could transport her."

Dr. Natalie Manning looked back at them. "We will do our best," she told them as another look at her stats. "Do we know her blood type?"

"She's A positive," Sylvie told them. "We donated at an event and she said she was A+."

"I need some bags of A positive," Dr. Manning ordered. "I also need a complete panel, tox screen, rape kit and a pregnancy test."

"You think she was raped?" Jay questioned her as he took out his phone.

"I don't know, but I don't want to take a chance-" Dr. Manning stopped mid sentence as she saw that Avery's vitals were crashing. "I'm sorry but you need to leave. I need a crash cart!"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Here's chapter two! Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Yay for updates! Hope you all enjoy it!  
_**

 ** _A/N2: I own nothing but my characters and plot..._**

* * *

 ** _Three_**

It had been two days since Jay had found Avery in her apartment. The image of her beaten and lying in a pool of her own blood was not something he would soon forget. Only a day earlier they had made plans to talk about something and have dinner. It was something they did every week, but it was something that they had just started doing in the last two months. Seeing her in the hospital bed with a breathing tube down her throat did not sit well with him. After being kicked out of her room when she had started to crash on the night she was brought in, he knew he had to call someone in his unit to talk to about what happened. So he had made the phone call to Antonio Dawson who had come to the hospital and would check in with him on how Avery was doing while he waited for her to get to the point of not needing to be in a medically induced coma.

"Any changes?"

Looking towards the voice as they held out a coffee to him, he saw it was Antonio Dawson. Knowing he looked as tired as he felt, Jay was thankful that he didn't make a comment about his appearance.

"Dr. Manning was here earlier checking on her," Jay said as he took a sip of the steaming hot coffee. "She said that all of the tests looked good, but couldn't or wouldn't tell me the actual results of the tests she ran."

"What about your brother? Can he tell you anything?"

"He made a hint, but he can't tell me without getting into more trouble than he already is in," Jay told him with a sigh. "I don't have the power of attorney so they can't tell me anything really."

"What about when she will wake up?" Antonio asked as he took a seat near Jay as he watched him.

"Dr. Manning came in and said with the results of her tests that later today they will take her out of the coma and let her wake up. It could take awhile, but I'm not ready to head into work."

"We don't want you there either."

Jay let out a small laugh as he glanced at Antonio. "She's a good person and I don't understand how this happened to her."

"When she wakes up she'll let us know," Antonio told him. "Gabby keeps asking if she should come by or not. I'll give her an update and tell her maybe tomorrow."

"Yeah, hopefully she'll be awake and off the ventilator by then."

"That would be my hope," Dr. Natalie Manning said as she walked into the room with a smile on her face as she looked at the two men in the room with her patient. "As soon as the nurse gets here, we are going to administer the drug that will wake her up. I would suggest staying close because I don't know how long it will take for her to wake up and seeing a familiar face is always easier when you don't know where you are."

"And so she doesn't yank that tube out of her throat on her own?" Jay asked.

"That, too," she told him. "I know she's your friend and I'm glad you got her here when you did and I wish I could tell you about all her results, but I really can't."

"He knows," Antonio said as he stood up. "We don't want to get anyone in trouble, we just want what's best for her recovery."

Dr. Manning nodded her head as she watched one of the nurses walk in and they started the process of taking Avery out of her coma.

"Avery had a lot of trauma," Dr. Manning said looking at the two men. "Although we have started the process of taking her out of the coma, there is no way to know when she will wake up. It might start with a twitch of the hand or something else. Just be patient."

Jay didn't say anything, he just took Avery's hand that didn't have all the IV hooked up. There was so many things that he couldn't wait for her to wake up and demand that they take everything out. From the breathing tube to the catheter to the feeding tube that was sustaining her. He knew that Avery enjoyed food, either making it when she had the time or just trying new things. Shaking his head, Jay wiped a tear from his eye before his friend could see it.

"I'm gonna head out, but if you need anything at all don't hesitate to call," Antonio said after he watched Dr. Manning leave along with the nurse. "Keep me posted on how she's doing, alright?"

"Yeah man," Jay said letting go of Avery's hand as he stood up and shook Antonio's hand before patting him on the back. "I appreciate you coming by to check on me and to see how she's doing."

"Anytime," Antonio said as he looked over at the woman Jay had refused to leave since finding. "When she wakes up, we'll know how to find who did this."

* * *

 _ **Six Hours Later**_

Hearing the beeping of a machine was hurting her head. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt as if they had weights on them. The feeling of being super tired got to her so didn't fight it. Avery wasn't sure on how much time had passed between the first time she tried to open her eyes and when she looked into Jay's blue eyes as panic started to set into her. There was something in her throat. With her hand still shaking slightly she went to move whatever it was in her throat, but something stopped her. A hand. Looking up she saw that it was Jay stopping her.

"It's a breathing tube," he told her softly. "You need to leave it in until the nurses or doctors take it out okay?"

Her eyes never left him as he called out for someone's help, but he never left her side or let go of her hand. It was obvious that she was in the hospital, but there was no memory of how she got here or anything after she answered her door. Her mind went wild remembering the two men that came and barged into her home.

"Hey, Avery my name is April. I'm gonna remove these tubes. But I need you to calm down because your heart rate just spiked. Can you do that for me?"

Nodding her head, she gripped onto Jay's hand. Listening to everything that the nurse said made getting the tubes out a whole lot easier. The whole time, Jay never left her side which was reassuring. Being a nurse, April had some water ready for after the tube was taken out of Avery's throat.

"Since you are awake, I took the breathing tube and the feeding tube out," April said looking at Avery as she took in her surroundings. "But I can't take the catheter out until we know that you can go to the bathroom and everything is normal in that aspect."

"Thank you." Avery said, her voice hoarse from the tube that had been inside of her for however long she had been there.

"I'm going to get Doctor Manning and she will go over everything ok?"

Nodding her head, Avery turned and looked at Jay. "Hey."

"Hey. How do you feel?"

"Is it weird that I feel tired?" she asked softly.

"Not at all," Jay said. "Will said that it would be normal if you were tired after you woke up. It from all the drugs leaving your system or something. I was only half paying attention."

"Will? As in your brother?"

"Yeah," Jay said with a smile. "He works here. You know you scared the living crap out of me."

"Sorry?" Avery said. Looking at him she could tell he had been worried and she didn't mean for that to happen. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Before Jay could say anything else, Doctor Manning followed by the nurse who identified herself as April walked in. "Hello Avery. I'm Doctor Manning. It is really great to see you awake."

Avery wasn't sure if she was supposed to say anything so she just nodded her head and smiled at the doctor. She watched as both the women used hand sanitizer on their hands upon entering the room.

"Detective Halstead," April said getting his attention. "Can you come with me for a minute please?"

Jay looked at the nurse confused and then back at Avery. It was obvious that they wanted him to leave so they could talk to his friend, but he wasn't ready to leave her side.

"It's okay Jay," Avery said speaking up. "I'll be alright."

Nodding his head, he stood up and kissed the top of her head. "I need to make a few calls. I'll be right outside if you need anything."

As soon as he left, April closed the door so that they would have privacy while they talked.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Manning asked as she moved closer to her patient. "Any pain?"

"The beeping is kinda annoying and my head hurts a bit, but mainly just tired. I know its weird since I just woke up but that's the truth."

"I've had patients tell me the same thing before," she said with a kind smile upon her face. "Do you remember what happened?"

Looking down at her hands that she nodded her head. "Avery, can you tell us what happened?"

"I was stupid and opened my door to two men I didn't know and it nearly cost me my life."

"Your boyfriend hasn't left your side." April told her with a smile to try and make her feel better.

"He's not my boyfriend," Avery said. "Just a friend that lives across the hall."

"As soon as we go over your test results we can leave you to get some rest."

"When you came in there were questions of what happened to you and since you weren't able to tell us anything we did a whole panel of tests. Those came back normal, but there was one that was worrisome, and that had to do with the some of the swelling."

"In my head?" Avery asked, listening intently to every word Doctor Manning was telling her.

"We didn't want to do surgery after such a trauma unless we really needed to. So we waited and it went down on its own. We ran a pregnancy test."

"Can't be pregnant if you aren't having sex."

April couldn't help herself as she let out a little laugh.

"So you know that since you were found unconscious we weren't sure if there had been a sexual assault so we had a rape kit done, but there didn't seem to be any signs of it."

She didn't realize it but Avery had been holding her breath as Doctor Manning told her about that. It was a relief to know that she hadn't been raped. Being a paramedic she had seen her fair share of victims and even a handful of ones that had been sexually assaulted and those ones always tore at her heart. It didn't matter the age of the victim, she always hoped they would recover. And this time she was the victim, but luckily for her it wasn't a sexual assault just a really bad assault.

"So we have you on some pain medicine right now because without it I believed you would be in a lot more pain. Your wrist was fractured, but it is healing. Your ribs on the other hand," Doctor Manning said. "When you were brought in you had three broken ribs and four cracked ones. Those will take time to heal."

"Was that all?"

"You had a deep gash on your head. There was worry over a concussion, but things seem to be alright for now. Head wounds always bleed more so it looks worse. But for now we want to keep you for a few days to make sure everything stays on track."

"When can I use an actual bathroom?"

Smiling, Doctor Manning looked at her chart and then back at Avery. "We are going to monitor your intake of water and some food. If everything turns out well, we can talk about taking the catheter out."

"Thank you Doctor Manning."

"Do you want me to get you something for your headache?" April asked her.

"Please." Avery said.

"I'll check on you later." Doctor Manning told her.

"Thanks."

* * *

When she woke again, the lights seemed to have dimmed and there were some hushed voices. More than one. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw that some of her co-workers were talking to Jay and some were people that she didn't recognize.

"Hey," the voice of Kelly Severide said from across the room when he noticed her eyes opening. "Sleeping Beauty is awake."

"Hey Kelly." Avery said as she let out a yawn. "What are you all doing here?"

"It's actually because of them that we found you," Jay told her with a half smile. "I've been keeping them updated since you were admitted."

"Actually it was because of Brett. She told me that you were late and asked if I could check into it. So I grabbed Severide and we came over to your place. Detective Halstead happened to have your spare key and we were able to get inside and that's where he found you."

"Where is Sylvie?"

The paramedic came forward and smiled at her partner. "Thank you."

"Well I really don't want another new partner. I like having you on Ambulance 61."

"I like being there too," Avery told her as she gripped Sylvie's hand. "Thank you though. If you hadn't told Matt-"

"Don't go there," Jay told her. "Just don't think about it."

Nodding her head, she took his advice. It was hard not to think about it, but she would try. All she wanted right now was to heal up so she could get back to work. If there was one thing she hated it was being the patient in the hospital instead of being one of the paramedics to transport someone to the hospital.

Looking around the room, she saw that Gabby was ushering some of them out of the room. Smiling, she took Sylvie's spot for a minute. "Avery, I want you to meet my brother Antonio. You can trust him, he's good police. They are going to ask you about what happened. Just be honest, alright?"

"Gabby…"

"I know it can be scary, but these intelligence guys, they are the best. If you trust them, then they can put the bastards away and you'll rest easier. We all will."

Nodding her head, Avery took in what her friend was telling her. But did she really want to tell the police what happened? Would they think she was stupid for not coming to them right after it happened? She wouldn't be able to tell who it was that did this to her, so how would these guys find them?

* * *

 _ **A/N: Let me know what you think!**_


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